Nigeria Human Rights

Forced Evictions

On World Habitat Day, Amnesty International is calling for the end to forced evictions in Nigeria. A forced eviction is the removal of people against their will from the homes or land they occupy without legal protections and other safeguards.

More than two million people have been forcibly evicted from their homes in different parts of Nigeria since 2000. Most were already marginalized and many had lived for years without access to clean water, sanitation, adequate health care or education. In 2006, Nigeria was named one of the three worst violators of housing rights by the Geneva-based Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions.

Forced evictions are continuing throughout the country. Since 2003, an estimated 800,000 people have been removed from their homes in Abuja, the capital. Between May and July 2008 forced evictions took place on an almost weekly basis in Lagos, with some communities facing their third forced eviction. In April 2005, bulldozers demolished houses, churches, and medical clinics in the community of Makoko, Lagos. About 3,000 people lost their homes. They said that they had not been given prior notice, were not consulted on the planned evictions, and were not given adequate alternative housing. Some of them, including children, were beaten and injured by law enforcement officials, and others had all their belongings destroyed.

In Port Harcourt, the capital of Rivers state and the most populous city in the Niger Delta, large-scale forced evictions are being carried out along the waterfront despite earlier state government promises that no evictions would take place. Thousands of people are likely to lose their homes.

Human Rights Live Here
In Nigeria, more than two million people have been forcibly evicted from their homes in different parts of the country since 2000. » More actions

News

Reports

Success Stories!

En Español

Annual Reports
2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006
2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002
2001 | 2000 | 1999 | 1998
1997 | 1996 | 1995